


A Humans Death

by IAmAshamedOfMyFanfics (faraandmera)



Series: The Undramatic Lives Of Fictional Creatures [4]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fantasy, Friendship, everyone is a fictional creature, friends are nice, getting involved with the wrong people is not good for staying alive, i dont know if jooheon irl has a sister but he does in this story, jooheon is a ghost so the death thing is sort of unavoidable, written so it can be read on its own
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 12:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8401168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faraandmera/pseuds/IAmAshamedOfMyFanfics
Summary: Jooheon isn’t happy to be dead, nor is he happy to look back and remember how he died. Since he is dead, though, he’s glad he’s surrounded by these people.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Version: iamashamedofmyfanfics.tumblr.com/post/147428400220/a-humans-death
> 
> Written in july

Jooheon grew up in a nice- fairly large- apartment with his parents and siblings. When he’s eight he carves his name into the wall near the window in their living room. His parents get mad- of course- but he manages to get out of trouble due to his mastered ability to be cute- and promising to the dishes that night- but he usually leaves that part out when he tells his friends.

The older he got, the more his ability to fake his way out of trouble became something he was overconfident in. When he got involved with some not necessarily great people he managed to lie to his parents and convince them the people were fine.

“Why would I hang out with drug dealers? Have a little faith in me.” A frown, sad looking eyes, and a higher tone on the second sentence had his mother sighing and allowing him to continue on as he was.

In hindsight- hell even at the time- he knew it was a bad idea. They were just so… nice to him. That he figured it would be okay. That he grew secure in what he was doing. As a teenager, nothing went wrong. Jooheon maintained good enough grades to graduate and get himself into college and everything was fine. While he was busy with school work and an unfriendly dorm mate, he didn’t talk to them as often either. Could pretend he’d never been involved with them in the first place.

During the summer, though, when he went home that was harder. Greetings of _‘hey Jooheon where you been?’_ and _'It’s been too long’_ find their way to him. As well as a sinking feeling in his chest that it’s too late to stop involving himself with them. Not that he dislikes them, but the older he gets the more it feels like it might be a bad idea. His actual instinct to avoid danger only took four years to kick in.

Still, it’s not like anything goes wrong, per say. In fact, the first summer passes without anything really terrible happening at all. Sure, Jooheon may have drunkenly stumbled home one day and had to dismiss his parents worries.

“I’m an adult now, trust me a little.”

But _nothing went wrong._

Jooheon returns to school once vacation passes and doesn’t think much of them. It’s easy to ignore a problem when you aren’t directly faced with it; at least it is for Jooheon. He’s forced to face the problem when someone shows up at his dorm asking if he knew where they can find his friends.

“Why the hell would I know?”

It’s not a good answer, and Jooheon gets a broken nose, alongside a slightly bitter part of him that wonders what his friends got up to that he’s now indirectly involved in.

Winter comes, holidays come, and Jooheon almost considers staying in his dorm instead of going home. Instead he goes home with the feeling that something isn’t going to go right.

Someone else shows up at his home and asks about his 'friends’ again. The guys who Jooheon hadn’t so much as seen since he got back. The guys who last time he saw them said they’d miss him and told him to come back soon. The guys who said they’d be waiting for him. Yeah, _those guys._ He had no clue where they were and honestly couldn’t care less.

“I don’t know, Don’t care, they can go- never mind. No I don’t know, sorry guy.” Jooheon shrugs, glaring. “Now can you leave?”

Nothing is broken this time and Jooheon is thankful for that.

His so-called friends show up a few days later and pretend like everything is fine. “Hey, Jooheon, we missed you.”

“I’ve been back for five days.”

“Yeah, man, we’ve been busy.”

“People have asked about you guys. You must be real busy.”

“…Who asked?”

“Some guys.”

“Did you tell them?”

“Tell them what? I told them I had no clue where you were, cause _I didn’t._ ”

“Good, good. You’ve always got our backs.”

“…Yeah.” He really didn’t. Jooheon just wasn’t oblivious enough to think he wasn’t already involved enough to get hurt if he didn’t. They don’t seem to notice his hesitation, though, and he sighs once he’s alone again. _“Jooheon what are you doing.”_

Asking himself provides no answer that he doesn’t already know. Getting himself in trouble is what. When did he get so bad at avoiding it? Maybe because talking his way out of association with someone was harder than claiming he didn’t know carving his name into the wall was bad. From a spot on the floor, where he’d sat himself down, he glances at said wall.

“Eight year old me, your carving isn’t even.” Jooheon doesn’t know why he does it, but he takes a knife and evens out the shaky scratches of his name on the wall, makes them look neater. As if carving into the wall more will help any. It makes it look nicer, but now there’s a bigger mark in the wall reminding him that he did something wrong and he laughs when he realizes it could be a metaphor for his life. “Shit. I better write that one down.”

Jooheon cries until he passes out against the wall. Had he always been so emotional?

While Jooheon is packing to get ready to head back to his dorm and college life, a slightly familiar face shows up at his door. The guy that broke his nose. “Um?”

“So, how are you friends?”

“Are we doing this again? I didn’t know before what makes you think-” Jooheon tries to remain calm but is cut off when he punched to the ground- “Ow- shit- why?”

Instead of a proper, verbal, answer, Jooheon gets stabbed. So… all in all the situation could be better. Even worse, it happens multiple times. That just seems unnecessary, Jooheon thinks as his vision fades.

“Fuck, dammit, what the fuck.” Words fall from his mouth but there’s nothing he can do to stop the bleeding from most of his wounds. He realizes his family are there, home, and hopes desperately that the guy just leaves without realizing that. If the universe is doing him any favors, it’s that he manages- blearily- to see the guy leave once he thinks there’s no saving Jooheon, without looking around the place.

(Later he’ll realize he could be a character in a gang movie who does everything wrong.)

 

Jooheon, reasonably so, is surprised when he wakes up. When he looks around and realizes he’s standing in his home. Glances down at himself- the same clothes sans the holes- and can’t understand why he doesn’t look hurt. He lifts his shirt and immediately regrets it. Feels sick despite not having a stomach to feel sick with. At least one not full of holes. Jooheon drops the shirt, let’s it fall back over his frame and hide the wounds. They’re not bleeding, there isn’t any blood at all, but that doesn’t make it any less gross or horrifying to look at.

“What- what the actual hell?”

When Jooheon looks around again, he notices things his surprise at being 'alive’ had made him ignore. There are boxes, packed up near one wall. Everything looks much more clean than it should. _Empty_ , even. With a start, Jooheon shoots forward to look around the rest of the apartment. Someone has to be here, he thinks. Someone has to be able to explain this to him.

His mother is there, she comes out of her room in tears and walks past him. Doesn’t notice. “Mom!”

Nothing. She doesn’t hear, doesn’t see him, and Jooheon tries to reach out to her to no avail. She leaves, and Jooheon finds himself unable to go much further than the hallway outside their apartment. Once she’s to the stairs she’s too far and Jooheon can’t seem to move any further. He calls out again, but nothing happens.

Even when others show up to take the boxes and anything else left behind. Even when he overhears conversations, Jooheon can’t bring himself to believe what’s happening.

“Did you hear? They’re moving because their son died here. Got stabbed to death.”

“That’s fucked up.”

Jooheon runs a hand over his torso, can feels the wounds hidden beneath his clothes.

“Wonder if the place is haunted now.” Jooheon almost laughs at that.

“I hope not, or else were probably pissing some ghost off.” Jooheon does laugh. He doesn’t feel happy, but he laughs.

“Making me sad more like.” They don’t hear him.

 

The more time passes, the less Jooheon hurts thinking about what happened. The less Jooheon feels angry and bitter. He’ll always be upset, always be angry at others and himself for what happened, but it gets easier not to think about it. Every so often someone will try to convince someone else the apartment is a good place to live, only for that to fail as soon as someone realizes there was a death there.

So maybe Jooheon learns he can- barely- move things if he tries hard enough and scares most people off. Could anyone blame him? Not that he’d mind someone moving in, what use does a ghost have for privacy? But if he’s going to let someone move in, it’s going to be someone he doesn’t think would be annoying to have around.

The guy who breaks into the apartment with flowers growing from his collar bones is not the person he expecting to try and move in.

“How does that even happen? What are you?” Jooheon is actually talking to himself but the guy tumbles over with a screech. “Dude.”

“My old man heart.” He clutches his chest and Jooheon laughs.

“You’re like… _what_ twenty three? Four? Yeah, _old_.” Jooheon floats- a skill he mastered in the past few years- around him.

“Two hundred and fifteen, but you know, good guess dead guy.”

“…How?”

“I am a plant,” A pause, “spirit.”

“…I’m a ghost?”

“No!” A mock gasp. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Give me a break. You’re the first person to see me.”

“Perks of not being human, I guess.” He smiles. “I’m Hoseok and I’d shake your hand but I’m pretty sure I can’t.”

“Incorporeal, and all. But nice to meet you, I’m Jooheon.”

Being that he’s the first person who can see Jooheon, Jooheon is okay with Hoseok staying. Even if he’s technically not living there as far as the apartment manger knows, Hoseok stays and doesn’t get caught. Jooheon is just glad to have someone to talk to again.

 

Even better, is that a few weeks later Hoseok comes back with another plant spirit it tow. Hyungwon is less startled by Jooheon being, you know, dead than Hosoeok was. In fact, Hyungwon doesn’t seem to particularly mind either way. In turn Jooheon is just happy to have more company. He never really realized how lonely being dead was until he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Hey Hyungwon, what are the chances I can convince you to grow snapdragons over here.” Jooheon motions to the windowsill in the living room.

“Why?”

“I just think there should be flowers here?”

“Because your name is there?” Hyungwon asks, motioning to Jooheon’s name carved into the wall near the window.

“…No.”

“Jooheon.”

“Yes.”

“Sure, give me a few days.”

A few days later there’s a plant sitting on the window sill and, despite how it should act, growing towards Jooheons name instead of towards the sun.

 

After Hyungwon comes Changkyun. Jooheon almost expects another plant spirit, but is instead greeted with a vampire. Changkyun’s supply of blood- all in blood packs- is just a little unsettling. Jooheon thinks it shouldn’t bother him, being dead, but if anything that’s why. Blood a reminder of his death.

“You okay? I didn’t know ghosts could space out.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“…How’d you die?”

“Does it matter?”

“If it was really bloody I can take myself somewhere else when I drink blood, you know.”

“…Thanks.”

Changkyun starts leaving the apartment more often, or closing himself in his room, and Jooheon is thankful for that. Not that Changkyun is around less- he likes the others presence- but that when he is it isn’t with blood.

 

Hoseok brings yet another into their home, next. Minhyuk is a werewolf who Jooheon has decided fits the word “puppy” more than “wolf” most of the time. While Minhyuk doesn’t need anything more than a normal human most of the time, it’s after the full moons that Jooheon has a hard time interacting with him. There are always scratches, deep and painful looking- and feeling- running over Minhyuk after the full moon. Jooheon feels bad, knows it must be painful especially since Minhyuk is completely conscious the whole time, and tries to help in the only way he can. Words.

“Hey Minhyuk what’s the first word you think of when I say, uh, 'life’?”

“Death. But… hey Jooheon I think I’m bleeding on the floor.”

“It’s cool I died on the floor.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better about it.”

“Want me to get someone?”

“…Yeah.”

Minhyuk comes home one day with a mat- it’s actually just a blanket- and places it over the spot in the hallway where Jooheon died. When asked he shrugs and tells Jooheon he thought it suited the place and Jooheon.

 

The next to move into the apartment- his apartment Jooheon continues to say- is Hyunwoo. The angel shows up, looks at Jooheon, and immediately apologizes.

“Uh, for what?”

“Angels are actually…” Hyunwoo pauses, like he’s looking for the words. “Sort of like reapers. We’re- or they’re- supposed to guide humans after they die.”

“Good job,” Jooheon motions to himself, and when Hyunwoo bows his head makes a startled noise. “No, no I’m joking! It’s fine. This way I’ve met a lot of cool people.”

Hyunwoo doesn’t seem to stop feeling guilty about it, but Jooheon and he don’t talk about it again. If anything, Jooheon uses it as an excuse not to be subtle about his happiness when he is, well, happy. In turn Hyunwoo seems to calm down.

 

The first since Hoseok not to directly be lead to the apartment by one of the others, comes Kihyun. A demon who- as far as Jooheon knows- is the only of them that can actually touch him. (It might be the case for Hyunwoo too, but Jooheon doesn’t know). Jooheon finds this out when Kihyun smacks him upside the head for calling him 'mom’. Kihyun is also the one to actually rent the apartment so the others staying there is legal.

“Ow.” Jooheon grabs his arm. “I forgot what pain felt like. Huh…”

“Don’t.”

“It’s kinda nice to feel again.”

“Oh, I thought you would say something weirder than that.” Kihyun sighs.

“Maybe I’m sort of-”

“DO NOT!”

“You ruin all my fun. I was having a good time, being dead, you know.”

“Were you?”

“…Sort of.”

Jooheon doesn’t want to admit it completely. Being dead wasn’t half bad, but dying in the first place, knowing people he knew are still out there and he can’t see them, that wasn’t fun. So _'sort of’_ seems appropriate.

 

Everyone is around, idly doing one thing or another, when something Jooheon doesn’t expect happens.

Minhyuk and Changkyun are making bets about a terrible vampire and werewolf movie. Hyungwon is asleep in the window. Hoseok whispering 'fight’ at Minhyuk and Changkyun. Kihyun is cooking. Hyunwoo is actually watching the movie. Jooheon is floating idly around them. Then there’s a knock at the door.

“Since when do we have guests?” Hoseok glances at the door. “Or visits? Did we forget to pay a bill?”

Jooheon shrugs and Hyunwoo goes to actually answer the door.

“Um,” The woman that stands there is older, with small eyes and a nervous expression. Years don’t mean Jooheon recognizes her any less. “I know I don’t know you, but I used to live here.”

Jooheon freezes, everyone but Hyunwoo turns to him. “Ah, um, well we’re the current residents.”

“I figured,” She smiles. “My brother…”

“I have to hide!” Jooheon suddenly shouts.

“She can’t see you, Jooheon.” Changkyun says under his breath, so she doesn’t hear.

“Still!”

“He passed away here, and I… We moved after but I never… I feel like I need to see it one more time. May I come in? I promise I wont stay long.”

“Um,” Hyunwoo glances behind him, to everyone, but mostly Jooheon. A second passes, and Jooheon silently nods. “Sure.”

Jooheon follows her when she walks into the home, bows to the others, and turns to the wall where Jooheon’s name is. The wall had been painted over, but for Jooheon’s sake the others peeled the paint off of that specific spot. Hyungwon woke up at some point, and moves away from the window when she gets closer to it.

“It’s still here,” She smiles and Jooheon watches her face when she leans down to trace his name. “I can’t believe you didn’t get in trouble for this.”

“I’m too cute to get in trouble.” Jooheon wishes that it was his words that made her laugh, but knows it must be something she thought of instead.

“Jooheon…” Everyone is awkwardly avoiding looking at her and Jooheon, except Hyunwoo who keeps throwing worried glances at the latter. His sister stands, turns back and bows to the group. “Thank you for letting me see the place again, I’ll… go now.”

“Well,” Minhyuk glances at Jooheon. “It’s not like we’d mind if you ever needed to again.”

“Did you think through how that sounded?” Hoseok laughs but glances at Jooheon too.

“What?”

“Sounds like you’re hitting on my sister,” Jooheon mutters, pretending to glare. He know it was for his sake.

“I am not!”

“Not what?” Changkyun interrupts. “No one said anything.”

“Um, I mean, I realized how It sounded.”

“You,” Jooheon’s sister laughs. “I think my brother would have liked you guys.”

Jooheon laughs and everyone else seems to be having a hard time not laughing.

“Are you alright?” Hyungwon asks, distracting her from those without any poker faces.

“Yes… yeah, I think so.” She sighs. “I haven’t been here in a really long time, I barely recognise it.”

“That will happen,” Kihyun finally comes out of the kitchen. “Hey nerds food is done.”

“Oh,” She laughs. “Then I really should go.”

“You could stay if you wanted, but who would with these guys?”

“Rude.” Hyungwon mutters while Jooheon’s sister shakes her head.

“No, I really should go.”

Hyunwoo leads her out of the apartment, and it’s silent for a few minutes following while no one really knows what to say.

“Seriously though don’t hit on my sister.” Jooheon breaks the silence.

“We aren’t!”

“Just covering my bases.”

“Besides, what are you going to do, hit us with your ghost hands?” Changkyun asked.

“Someone hit him for me.”

When conversation falls back into it’s usual state- and while everyone who can, eats- Jooheon stares at the door. With a sigh, he turns his attention back to the others. There’s no sense dwelling on it. Nothing he can do. She wont ever be able to see him and if they could speak Jooheon doesn’t know what he would say. Maybe he’d ask how their parents are, how everyone is. Maybe he’d apologize for making friends with the wrong people. Maybe he’d just ask her what her life is like now.

But he can’t. There’s nothing he can do or say.

“Jooheon?”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Hyunwoo watches him carefully.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Do you wish you were alive?” Minhyuk asks, softly.

“I…” _Does he?_

“You probably wouldn’t have met us, but you’d probably have your family,” Changkyun offers.

“No.”

“No?” Hyungwon repeats, tilting his head.

“I don’t wish I was alive. I mean… I’m not happy I’m dead but…”

“Aw Jooheon do you love us?” Hoseok puts a hand to his heart.

“Obviously,” Jooheon shrugs. “Well, usually.”

“Usually?” Kihyun laughs.

“You guys kinda suck.”

“Literally in some cases,” Hyungwon says, and there’s a pause before Jooheon laughs and everyone else sighs.

“Stop.” Changkyun groans. _Vampire jokes._ “Why are you like this?”

“You shouldn’t let him near the internet,” Jooheon states, like it’s a fact.

He’s not happy he died. Jooheon can’t say that dying was a good thing. But if he had to die, if he had to die in that way, he’s glad he ended up a ghost. Glad he ended up here, with this group of people. They make the whole being dead thing easier. They make him glad he still exists as Jooheon and hasn’t been reborn as someone entirely different. It’s cheesy and he feels cheesy thinking about it, but he loves them all a lot.

“Guys I’m going to cry ghost tears.”

“Gross.”

“What happens when a ghost cries?”

“We’re about to find out.”

Jooheon laughs. Yeah, he’s glad. Another glance is sent towards the door and some part of Jooheon actually hopes she doesn’t visit again, that no one he knew when he was alive does. Because looking back at his life only makes him sad, makes him regret, makes him guilty. This is what he has now. He’s happy with what he has now, there’s no need to keeping looking back and hurting himself.

“I really do love you guys.”


End file.
